Upper Elementary (3-5)

Metric Wins!

There have been many metric systems, or systems of measurement. On 7 April 1795 the National Convention of France decreed new "Republican Measures" to be legal measures in France. The units of measurement included the meter, liter, and gram; the prefixes centi, deci, deca, hecto, and kilo were also sanctioned. This was the decimal system of measurement or the decimal metric system. It has survived practically unchanged and now is known simply as the metric system. The latest version of the system is the International System of Units or SI for short.

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Dollar$ or Cent$?

It is common in the real world to see mathematical examples where the cents sign was used when the dollar sign was supposed to be used. Converting and comparing decimals and fractions can help clear up this misconception. Two real coupons clipped from the Sunday paper coupon section are included in this activity.

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Contouring and Topo Maps

Twice during college I was taught to do hand contouring. One time in a meteorology class where the class was drawing isobars and isotherms on a weather map. One time in a geology class where we were drawing the topographical contours on an elevation map. I really enjoyed those exercises, but both times I remember thinking, "This is elementary school level."

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